The Elements of Industrial Democracy

Abstract

This article examines the concept of industrial democracy as it applies to individual rights in the workplace. Although emphasis is placed on the development of rights, it is necessary to develop also the notion of job duties and obligations. Just as a citizen under a politically democratic system is expected to fulfill certain duties, so is an employee expected to perform at a reasonable level of competence. The difficulty of reconciling fairness with efficiency is recognized in the article. Participative management, a modern example of industrial democracy, is discussed as having potential for creating a more egalitarian workplace while at the same time increasing work output and quality. Beginning a new journal is an exciting venture, especially when its area of coverage is so important to working people. The editors should be applauded for their conception of the Journal of Individual Employment Rights and for carefully planning this inaugural issue. It will be interesting to see the Journal evolve. My sense is that it will become an increasingly valuable resource to both scholars and practitioners. It seems likely that in the years ahead new topics will be explored which we have little if any notion of today. Such is the dynamic nature of laws and institutional arrangements affecting the employment field. In considering topics that might be addressed in this and future issues of the Journal, I tried to envision the ballpark of individual employment rights. What are the areas about which authors might be concerned? How can contrasting views of appropriate policies be reconciled? Who stands to gain and lose as a result of the application of rights? The following remarks are brief but hopefully stimulative of thought about the philosophical and research directions that authors might pursue.